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Child language brokers frequently translate in adult-level situations. Research has suggested that through translating, brokers may develop advanced language, cognitive, and social skills (De Ment, Buriel, and Villanueva, 2005; McQuillan and Tse, 1995), and these may lead to greater academic achievement and self-efficacy (Buriel, Perez, De Ment, Chavez,and Moran, 1998). Additionally, language brokers have been found to increase in biculturalism as they translate for people of different cultures (Acoach and Webb, 2004; Buriel et al., 1998). Brokers might experience reduced acculturative stress, for which biculturalism has been found to be a protective factor (Bacallao and Smokowski, 2005). Despite its possible benefits, brokering has been associated with negative emotions and behavioral problems for some children (Chao, 2006; Weisskirch and Alva, 2002). The mixed results of language brokering studies may partially be related to the age of participants, with translating appearing to be a more positive experience for older adolescents (Orellana and Reynolds, 2008). The purpose of this study was to test relations among language brokering, academic achievement, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. I proposed and tested if language brokering was associated with more positive outcomes. In addition, I tested if older brokers had more positive outcomes than younger brokers. Participants included 207 Latino middle school students, aged 10 to 14 years, who completed self-report surveys. Measures included a background demographics questionnaire and scales for language brokering, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. Achievement was measured with grades from school records. Results were non-significant for the relation of language brokering with achievement and social self-efficacy when controlling for other predictor variables. In contrast to expectations, translating for more people was associated with decreased academic self-efficacy and greater acculturative stress. Further analysis revealed that language brokering for parents and grandparents was associated with greater acculturative stress, while translating for other people was not. Although translating was associated with more acculturative stress, and older children reported less acculturative stress, age was not found to moderate the relation of language brokering and acculturative stress. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future directions in language brokering research and clinical work are presented. / text

International students experience stress and adaptation difficulties as they study in a new culture. This study examined how cultural distance, acculturative stress, and social support interacted to influence positive and negative emotional responses among international students in the northern part of Cyprus. Acculturation models and the stress-buffering hypothesis served as theoretical frameworks. The 2 research questions involved understanding whether international students experienced more negative emotional responses compared to students from the home culture and whether social support moderated acculturative stress and reactions to being in the northern part of Cyprus. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine differences in emotional reactions between home and international students while 2 hierarchical multiple regressions examined the moderation hypotheses. ANOVA results indicated that Turkish-Cypriots had more positive emotional responses than international students. Results did not support social support as a moderator for either international students' acculturative stress or their emotional reactions. However, results suggested that unmet expectations, less financial satisfaction, and less social support predicted acculturative stress, while being in a relationship, having higher Turkish proficiency, having unmet expectations, and experiencing higher acculturative stress predicted more negative emotional reactions. These results may help universities design programs to support the psychological adaptation of international students, which could ultimately facilitate student retention.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of gender, acculturative stress, coping skills, cultural distance, and perceived social support in predicting college adjustment scores of international students who attend universities in Ankara. The sample of the study consisted of 170 (135 males and 35 females) volunteered international students from one private and four state universities in Ankara. A Personal Data Sheet developed by the researcher, Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker &amp / Siryk, 1984), Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (Sandhu &amp / Asrabadi, 1994), Brief COPE (Carver, 1997), Cultural Distance Scale (Bekta

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between acculturation level, generational status, and gender with acculturative stress. Acculturation level was determined by the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) and acculturative stress was determined by the Societal, Attitudinal, Familial and Environmental Acculturative Stress Scale-Children's Version (SAFE-C). Subjects included 1268 Hispanic children ages 11-15. In order to validate the usefulness of the ARSMA-II with this sample, analyses were conducted between acculturation level and generational status. The Pearson product moment correlation (r=.44) and the ANOVA between the mean acculturation score and generational status were significant. However, the mean acculturation score from this study was considerably lower than the ARSMA-II score; therefore, new acculturation levels were developed to establish local adolescent norms for the ARSMA-II. All analyses involving acculturation levels were conducted using both the ARSMA-II and new acculturation levels because 300 subjects were reclassified with the new norms. Significant results were similar using both acculturation levels; however, there were more between group differences using the new acculturation levels. It was hypothesized that as acculturation level increased toward the Anglo culture, acculturative stress would decrease. The one-way ANOVA confirmed this relationship. It was also hypothesized that as generational status increased, acculturative stress would decrease. A one-way ANOVA also supported this hypothesis. In order to replicate previous findings on gender, a one-way ANOVA was conducted with acculturative stress and acculturation level. Results for both were non-significant. Overall findings indicate that generational status and acculturation level have a significant impact on acculturative stress in Hispanic children; however, gender does not seem to be a factor. Findings emphasize the importance of addressing cultural issues in the assessment, intervention, and treatment of acculturating Hispanic children. Furthermore, the ARSMA-II appears to be a useful instrument in assessing acculturation level in young adolescent Hispanics though new local adolescent norms for the ARSMA-II were developed from this study.

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This research set out to explore the educational and socio-cultural experiences of DRC immigrant students in South African schools. Utilising a qualitative case study approach, the study attempted to provide a glimpse of the lived experiences of DRC immigrant students inside South African schools by exploring the following aspects: (1) academic performance, (2) schooling experiences, (3) linguistic disposition, (4) acculturation experiences and (5) how the students constructed their identities within South African society. The theoretical framework applied to this study was threefold in nature, namely Cultural Ecological Theory, Culture-Centred Theory and Critical Race Theory. The Major findings emanating from this study were: First, Cultural Ecological Theory could not explain the low academic performance of DRC immigrant students. Second, DRC immigrant students experienced acts of prejudice, isolation, linguistic adjustment incapability and xenophobic attacks. Third, acts of racism were prevalent at the school because teachers who taught them brought in African languages to explain lessons in class to indigenous students at their expense. Fourth, they were confronted by disrespectful modes of behaviour emanating from indigenous students to teachers. Fifth, the opportunity they had at the school, in terms of having access to education without being able to pay tuition fees, likely became their source of low academic achievement. The school had rapid turnover of teachers because the school governing body could not afford to pay additional teachers. Sixth, the students were exposed to uncommon modes of behaviour originating from indigenous students, in terms of gambling and smoking at the school. Seventh, they were exposed to display of weapons by indigenous students. Eight, the incorporation of culture into their academic work at school seemed to enhance their focus on learning. Ninth, they could not commence acculturation and identity negotiation in mainstream culture. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

The present study explores how children of Hispanic immigrants (CHIs) perceive life in the U.S., and how they view cultural diversity. Questionnaires were given to 92 non-U.S. born CHIs and one of their non-U.S. born Hispanic immigrant parents (HIPs) who have lived in the U.S. between 1 and 17 years (M yrs = 8.43); their views of the U.S. were assessed along with their acceptance of diversity, acculturative stress, and levels of acculturation. In this study, I found that CHIs generally hold positive views of the lives in the U.S. and also hold favorable views toward cultural diversity. Furthermore, this study hypothesized that HIPs significantly influence their CHIs attitudes toward both the U.S. and toward cultural diversity. Overall, my findings validated the theoretically based expectation that demonstrates the power of parental attitudes on their children’s attitudes. A significant correlation was found between HIPs’ attitudes toward the U.S. and their children’s attitudes, as well as, CHIs’ attitudes toward the U.S. correlating significantly with their perceptions of their parents’ attitudes toward the U.S. Multiple and stepwise regressions further confirmed the importance of parental attitudes toward their children’s attitudes toward the U.S. and their openness to cultural diversity. Findings from this study provide implications for future research.

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